Two people die in horrific Tesla crash

An ex-FBI agent and a young woman both died when the Tesla they were travelling in crashed and burst into flames.

The horrific smash happened in Indianapolis at 1am yesterday. Marion County Coroner's Office identified the driver as 27-year-old Casey Speckman and the male passenger as 44-year-old Kevin McCarthy.

McCarthy, a former FBI agent, was president and CEO of a software company called Case Pacer. Newly engaged Speckman was an employee at the firm and had recently graduated from law school.

Witnesses say the car was travelling erratically at high speed when Speckman lost control and hit a tree. The fire department said that debris was strewn for hundreds of yards in all directions.

The Tesla is a pure-electric vehicle and when it caught fire the lithium-ion batteries burned so intensely that fire crews needed 'copious amounts' of water to put it out.

Kevin Jones of the Indianapolis Fire Department said that electric car companies advise fire departments to let battery fires burn themselves out because of the intensity of the flames. However, his crews tried to put the fire out as people were still trapped inside.

A Tesla spokesperson said: "We are deeply saddened to hear about this accident that involved fatalities and we've been working with authorities to offer our full co-operation.

"Due to the damage caused by the collision, the car was physically incapable of transmitting log data to our servers."